Who: Jamie Branch & Fly or Die, SICK BOSS, Lydia Hol, Dawn Pemberton, David Sikula Quartet, Watermill Project, Bonnie Northgraves Quartet, Itamar Erez Quartet
Where: Performance Works at Granville Island
When: February 21 – February 23
How much: IT’S FREE!!!!
For the past three years, Coastal Jazz has been presenting a FREE music festival at Performance Works on Granville Island, replacing the old Winterruption festival that took place on the Island from 2006-2017.
The concept is simple: The weather in February can be dreary, so come to a great indoor venue and watch world-class jazz and improvising musicians (other genres as well, of course!) play amazing music FOR FREE.
The lineup is particularly strong this year:
On February 21st, Lydia Hol starts things off at 8pm with a band full of local R&B and Soul hotshots. People are still buzzing from her crisp set of 60s soul-influenced groovers at Jazz Fest last year. At 9:20, local soul legend Dawn Pemberton takes the stage. If you’ve never seen Pemberton live, prepare to dance your bum off.
On February 22nd, one of the best guitarists on the West Coast leads a group of Vancouver jazz heavyweights when Dave Sikula begins the day at 1pm. Sara Kim’s Watermill Project takes over at 3:45pm with a creative fusion of modern jazz and traditional Korean music. Later that night local free-jazz mavens SICK BOSS start things up again at 8pm, and internationally acclaimed trumpeter Jaimie Branch leads her Fly or Die ensemble at 9:20pm. Branch’s various projects have been highlights of the last two Jazz Festivals, so make sure you take this opportunity to see this critically acclaimed band in person. Both Fly or Die albums have ended up on numerous top ten lists of the year, and Branch is easily one of the most exciting musicians in jazz today.
The last day of the festival is February 23rd, and trumpeter and singer Bonnie Northgraves brings her traditional New Orleans-influenced sound to Performance Works at 1pm. At 3:45pm, Itamar Erez does double duty on piano and guitar, leading a great local band that will zip through numerous international styles and genres.
Oh, and it’s at Granville Island so there’s lots of great food and stuff for kids to do and it’s free!
Note: Advance RSVPs are full/closed for the Lydia Hol/Dawn Pemberton, David Sikula, and SICK BOSS/Jaimie Branch shows. But fortune favours the bold – show up early, prepare for a short time in an outdoor lineup, and you stand a good chance of getting in.
There is still room to RSVP for The Watermill Project (Feb 22), Bonnie Northgraves Quartet (Feb 23), and Itamar Erez Quartet (Feb 23).
Tim Reinert is a Vancouver-based writer and broadcaster who worked in the music retail industry for over 15 years.
He is the current president of the board of directors of the Vancouver Improvised Arts Society, and has been emceeing various jazz and improvised music shows for Coastal Jazz and other organizations for 25 years. He also hosts the the weekly jazz internet show ‘The Infidels’, which can be found here every Monday afternoon.
